Expandible loose leaf binder



March 27, 1962 c. L. PEYNADO 3,026,876

EXPANDIBLE LOOSE LEAF BINDER Filed Dec. 1, 1958 ATTORNEY United StatesPatent 3,026,876 EXPANDIBLE LOOSE LEAF BINDER Charles L. Peynado,Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to The C. E. Sheppard Co., Long Island City,N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 1, 1958, Ser. No. 777,244 2Claims. (Cl. 12941) This invention relates to expandible loose-leafbinders and has for an object toprovide a binder of the above typehaving novel and improved features of operation and details ofconstruction.

Another object is to provide an expandible binder having improved meansfor securing the posts in various positions as required foraccommodating fillers of different thicknesses.

A further object is to provide a binder of the above type which issimple in construction, economical to manufacture, and presents a neatand pleasing appearance.

Another object is to provide, in a binder of the above type, postsecuring means which are disposed to be concealed by the covers so thatthe outer surfaces of the covers remain flat and unobstructed forstacking.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of theinvention is more fully disclosed.

The nature of the invention will be better understood from the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in whicha specific embodiment has been set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a binder embodying the present inventionwith a part of the front cover broken away;

FIG. 2 is 'a vertical section taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1 but on alarger scale;

FIG. 3 is a broken section taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the latching plate for the flexiblepost.

Referring to the drawings more in detail the binder is shown as having afront cover and a back cover 11 hinged by suitable means shown as fabrichinges 12 and A 13 to front and back panels 14 and 15, respectively. Thepanels 14 and 15 are provided with spaced holes 16 for the passage of aflexible strip 17 which constitutes posts for receiving a stack 18 ofperforated loose leaves.

The strip 17 is composed of a strong resilient material which is capableof bending sharply as required while retaining suflicient springiness toreturn to a straight form when released. Monofilament nylon stripmaterial is preferred as this material retains its resilience or abilityto spring back into its straight form even after long periods of use.Also it is sufficiently flexible to permit the strip to be bent asrequired to conform to the thickness of the filler 18.

A single strip or strand of such nylon is used. This strip extendsacross the panel 15 'of the back cover 11, thence upwardly through thetwo holes 16 in the back panel 15, through the perforated sheets 18 andthe holes 16 of the front panel 14 with its projecting ends bent alongthe top of the front panel 14.

The nylon strip 17 is secured by latching plates 20 secured to eachpanel 14 and 15. The plates 20 have holes 21 registering with the holes16 of the respectivepanels and have upstanding latching ears 22 spacedfrom the plates to receive the strip 17 thereunder. Each ear 22 isformed with a downturned lip 23 for holding the strip 17 in place. Theplate 20 is recessed as at 24 below the ears 22 to provide clearance forthe strip 17.

The strip 17 is placed under the latching cars 22 on the back panel 15for securing the back loop of the strip in place. After the front panel14 has been pressed into place over the filler 18 the projecting ends ofthe strip 17 are bent downwardly and sprung under the cars 22 on thefront panel 14. The resilience of the strip 17 serves to hold the endsin place under the ears 22 while the flexibility permits the strip to bepressed downwardly to pass under the lips 23 when the strip is to bereleased as for the insertion of additional sheets over the posts soformed.

When the covers 10 and 11 are closed they cover the plates 20 and ears22 and present an unobstructed flat outer surface.

Since the strip 17 extends along the back panel 15 it is securely heldin place and cannot be pulled out unintentionally. Also an extremelyWide range of post lengths is available due to the lengths of the stripends folded over the front panel 14.

The invention may be embodied in various forms and changes andmodifications may be made therein as will be apparent to a personskilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. An expandible loose-leaf binder having front and back panels, frontand back covers hinged thereto, said panels having aligned holestherein, a strip of resilient, flexible, monofilament nylon extendingalong said back panel, the ends of said nylon strip being bent upwardlyand projecting through said aligned holes in said panels to constitutebinder posts and further bent at the free ends thereof to extend alongand in substantial parallel relation to said front panel, and means forlatching and securing said nylon strip, said latching and securing meanscomprising a plurality of plates on each of said front and back panels,said plates having holes for the passage therethrough of the nylon stripregistering with the holes in the front and back panels, each of saidplates having at one end thereof a transverse latching ear spaced aboveand normal to the plane of the plate to provide clearance for thepassage of the free end of the nylon strip there under, each of saidears having at its free end and in the plane thereof a downturned lipunder which the nylon strip is received, said lip having a groovetherein to maintain said nylon strip for securing said nylon strip inposition.

2. \An expandible loose leaf binder, as set forth in claim 1, in whichsaid plates are recessed beneath said ears to provide clearance for saidstrip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS394,394 Ready Dec. 11, 1888 1,016,557 Fairchild Feb. 6, 1912 FOREIGNPATENTS 752,929 France July 3, 1933 459,115 Great Britain Jan. 1, 1937547,141 Belgium Aug. 16, 1956

